1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for cleaning the channel or groove of a can of paint in general, and for specifically returning the otherwise wasted paint thus collected by the device to the can from which the paint was extracted, thereby reducing losses of paint while performing the duties of painting objects.
The one-gallon can of paint, of stain, or of other chemicals or compounds (hereafter called the paint) is typically built with a groove collecting the residual paint which results from the action of extracting the paint from the can, or from pouring the paint from one can to another. In almost all cases, the groove, used for tight sealing the can with the lid, becomes filled with paint drippings, resulting in a need for cleaning the paint and for returning it to the can, thereby reducing losses of liquid paint. The difficulties which follow when the groove is not cleaned involve not only the loss of paint, but also the drying, caking and shrinking of paint, thereby affecting the sealing of the can after use, and further contaminating the paint remaining in the can, against future use. In addition, water from the liquid paint can react with the lid to oxidize it and to contaminate the remaining paint with undesirable oxides.
The purpose of my invention is to prevent these effects, and to minimize paint losses, but in a way that is inexpensive and easy to effect.
Thus, it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are manifold, and the particular preferred embodiment described herein is in no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention may be applied is limited only by the imagination, and is therefore not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned herein in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the unique properties of this device, previously unknown in its proposed shape and dimension. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this invention is not limited to the applications mentioned below or to the specific examples of potential uses presented hereinafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for scraping paint are old and well known in the art. Several such devices have been developed in the past, but none in the form of a device such as the one proposed by the present invention. In this day, where recycling is becoming more and more important, and where waste and loss of paint must be minimized, if not eliminated, it has become an urgent task to design devices or apparatus capable of reducing losses of paint due to dripping of the paint brush, to rubbing the paint brush against to top rim of the can from which it is extracted, or also due to pouring paint from one can to another, to name but a few of many applications. The following known prior art has been directed to provide scrapers for removing the said paint, but none offers the savings involved in returning the excess paint off the top of a can and returning the paint to the can from where it came from, except one, as shown in the narrative below, and this exception is not as effective and low-cost as the one proposed in the present invention. As will be seen, the simplicity and effectiveness of my invention is finally not rivaled in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,235,038, issued to Lucie M. Klinka on Jul. 31, 1917, discloses a kitchen utensil made with a long shank and a flat end, and designed to scrape pots and pans in the kitchen. In contrast to our proposed invention, it does not offer an extension to scoop the paint off of a can of paint. The present invention is specifically designed to scoop the paint, to save the paint thus collected, and return it to the can from where it came. There is no obvious extension in the patented device to scoop paint with such a device, in the way proposed by the invention described herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,643,336, issued to Sylvester P. Frost on Sep. 27, 1927, offers a scraper device made to be borne by a thumb, by a suitable ring bracing the thumb. Our invention proposes a scooping device which is not borne by a thumb, and which consequently does not tire the thumb by performing a job the thumb cannot easily do. The patented device is therefore far removed from the task our present invention addresses.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,860,858, issued to Abraham Kurs on Nov. 18, 1958, offers a stirring-mixing combination device which can be used to scrape paint off of surfaces and brushes, but which is not shaped to go deep down into the groove of can of paint for the purpose of scooping the paint. On the contrary, it is made of a flat surface, while this invention discloses the feature of a curved surface for going deep down into the groove of a paint can.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,047, issued to Edward A. Hennigan on Sep. 14, 1971, is the concept closest to the present invention. It offers a device for removing liquid paint from the circular groove of a standard cylindrical can of paint, and for returning the paint to the interior of the can. The device proposed in said patent would extend a blade into the said groove, said blade would scoop the paint from the groove, and would discharge it into the can. It is made to ride against the rim of the can and be pushed by hand to effect the scooping action. It is not described, nor is it obvious, how the pushing action will be performed, one can presume that it is to be done by a push of the thumb, or by a push of the palm of the hand, or both, but no idea of a handle is offered in said patent.
In contrast to the present invention, the Hennigan patented device is bulky and made of one plastic piece, but with several surfaces performing different roles. One surface is to serve as a guide around the outer circumference of the can, as mentioned above in regards to riding against the rim of the can. A second surface is to scoop the paint off the groove in which the paint is trapped, and for returning said paint to the can, while a third surface is to scrape the remaining flat portion of the perimeter around the can and to deflect the paint into the groove, prior to it being removed by the aforementioned second surface. Because of its short dimension above the can, and its lack of a proper handle, the patented device offers no protection to the hand that pushes it around the perimeter, so that the hand may end up being splashed with paint as it pushes the device. The absence of a dedicated handle makes it hard for the hand to apply the right amount of pressure on the device as it is pushed around the rim of the can. Furthermore, the patented device must be dimensionally matched to the radius of the can, so that a can of one dimension can be serviced by only one dimensioned device, or otherwise the device must be made into several dimensions to fit the various sizes of cans popularly available from paint stores. From the multiplicity of surfaces making up the patented device, it can be inferred that it may not be easily machined. Indeed, it is a truly three-dimensional device, as opposed to the present invention, which can be fabricated by stamping a sheet metal surface, thereby making our device an almost two-dimensional device in shape.
By contrast, since the present invention is for a device that is made up of only one surface, it is much simpler in design and construction, and is also cheaper to fabricate, it can be made to proliferate in large numbers among users, paint shops and paint dealers. The present invention is very close to the ubiquitous paint stick used by paint users to stir the paint in the can prior to dipping the paint brush in the can, as is normally done in order to obtain a paint having uniform color and texture. The present invention is to be made of one surface, although stamped to give it the shape of a scoop, and is adapted to the dimensions of grooves normally encountered in every can of paint of any dimension, as can be seen from the description of the invention offered below, where the scoop is made to match the shape of the groove where the paint is trapped around the circumference of the can. The present device acts as its own handle, because it is long and flat in design and construction, and therefore does not present the problem of paint splashing the hand while moving the device around the groove. In other words, keeping the hand a distance away from the scooping action helps reduce the chances of paint splashing. To sum up the findings relating to the already patented device, as contrasted with the present invention, it can be said that the present invention offers a device which is considerably improved in a non-obvious manner over the prior patented one.
A multi-purpose paint stick is offered by U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,279, issued to Gary L. Gassew et al. on Nov. 19, 1985. The paint stick serves several types of applications relating to painting articles, and is also made into a flat stick, but is not specifically envisioned to go into the groove of a can of paint, as is the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,563, issued to John H. Kramer on Dec. 16, 1986, discloses a paint can rim and lid scraper. This device would be similar to that disclosed in the present application, were it not for the fact that it is not meant to scoop paint off the groove of a paint can and to return the paint to the can in the manner taught in the present application. The Kramer device is, indeed, a scraper, but not much else.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,177, issued to John F. Rastutis on Jun. 5, 1990, is for another scraper of paint to work around a can of paint, which again does not purport to scoop and save the amount of paint trapped in the groove around a can of paint, as in the present invention.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,471, issued to John A. Bannan on Jan. 8, 1991, discloses a multi-use paint tool, which scrapes the paint off of a groove around a can of paint, but does not scoop the paint and does not return it to the can, as in the present invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, are seen to describe the present invention as claimed.